Vintage crafts, treasures and travel from a Vintage girl!

Tag Archives: Bolton Abbey

I’m so sorry not to have found the time to blog for a few weeks but I have been soooo busy. A poor excuse I know!

We have been on a road trip in Damnvan1 to the Lake District, Cumbria. It was cold, sunny, windy, clear, crisp and fun. We walked, talked, drank wine, ate too much and had fun! We struggled to take down our pop up tent ( Where Benji dog sleeps) and I’m sorry I didn’t film our hilarious efforts for YouTube. We travelled to the Yorkshire Dales which were awash with Bluebells, we had picnics, and scoured charity shops, we watched old DVDs and had fun.

Yesterday we started to decorate the lounge in our cottage. Now it’s not very big but is in need of some TLC. The first task was a trip to one of those mega DIY stores (B and Q to be precise). I HATE DIY stores! In fact I feel as though I’m going to have a panic attack when I trawl between the paint, wallpaper, sandpaper, and screws of every size know to man. Actually, I nearly did have a panic attack when we arrived at the till and needed Oxygen due to how much we had spent! We filled up the car, drove home and started to plaster the cracks until wine time.

We awoke to a beautiful dawn. After minimal discussion we dumped the decorating, packed a few useful items and got Damnvan1 out of winter storage. We drove to Bolton Abbey in Yorkshire and had set up camp in time for afternoon tea. We had a visit from a long stream of ducks who investigated the feed situation. And then it was wine time.

OK we will have to return to the decorating but maybe when it is cold and rainy! I know what I’d rather be doing!

We are currently camped on the Bolton Abbey Estate in the Yorkshire Dales. A beautiful site in a lovely location. We are surrounded by “nature” and despite the rain, we were awakened by the most amazing dawn chorus. I have minimal knowledge of birds but we certainly heard Cuckoos, Robins, Woodpeckers, and saw ducks, Pied Wagtails and Swallows to name a few. We have also seen rabbits, and amazingly, a small deer!
We walked in the rain today but the scenery was still lovely. We stopped for a cup of tea (and cake) at a delightful cafe at Strid Wood. Whilst enjoying the cake I noticed some Ranunculus flowers displayed in hanging bottles and Kilner jars. The bottles were hung within the window frame using wire, which was nearly invisible, with one or two flowers in each bottle. This was a great use of old bottles and re cycled jars and looked great.